Welcome to at the moment’s Picture of the Day! Right here we’ve got a pistol of necessity. That is the Rollin White Arms Co 38RF. When you have no idea who Rollin White is then I extremely counsel you learn extra about him. To place it plainly he’s the patentee of bored by means of cylinders in a revolver. As in a gap that goes straight by means of relatively than one facet being strong for say a Colt 1851 black powder “muzzle loading” revolver. This gave him extraordinary energy within the 1860s and thru the 1870s however primarily within the sense that he might police his patent. He, sadly, couldn’t begin his personal revolver-making enterprise (his first and solely try didn’t work in any respect) as a result of he license the patent to Smith & Wesson and Rollin White actually was not in a position to compete and use his personal patent for the time it was licensed. Not solely did this safe an exquisite headstart and monopoly within the self-contained cartridge enterprise (with out this 22LR and a complete host of cartridges wouldn’t exist) however it additionally compelled Rollin White to create the Rollin White Arms Co the place he produced the Rollin White Arms Co 38RF Single Shot Pistol. Operation is kind of easy. Put the hammer in half cock, pull ahead on the cylinder…I imply block launch, tilt the block to the facet, load a cartridge, put the cylinder again, full cock, after which fireplace.
“It’s estimated that solely 200 to 300 of those pistols had been manufactured in .38 Rimfire by the Rollin White Arms Co. from 1861 to 1864, making them scarce even when in comparison with their uncommon counterparts chambered in .32 rimfire, of which about 3,000 had been manufactured. Rollin White is after all well-known for his patent on bored by means of cylinders which he granted Smith & Wesson the unique rights to fabricate. This instance is numbered “64” on numerous elements, a few of that are accompanied by a perpendicular “1”, together with the grips. The suitable facet of the body is marked “B.KITTREDGE&CO/CIN.O.” It options the distinctive swivel out breech with an ejector in addition to blade and notch sights.”
Lot 299: Rollin White Arms Co. .38 Rf Single Shot Pistol – Exceedingly Scarce B. Kittredge & Co. Marked Rollin White Arms Co. .38 Rimfire Single Shot Pistol. (n.d.). Rock Island Public sale Firm. {photograph}. Retrieved August 29, 2022, from https://www.rockislandauction.com/element/81/299/rollin-white-arms-co-38-rf-single-shot-pistol.
